Worried that you’re on a credit blacklist? Our article should clear up the confusion and explain how you could borrow again.

If you’ve had financial problems in the past, that ended up in you not being able to afford to pay back what you borrowed, you might be worried about trying to borrow again. You might even be thinking that you’ve been put on some kind of credit blacklist.

There are a few debt myths we want to bust and this is one of them – there’s no such thing as a lender or credit “blacklist”! What we mean by this is that there is no lender out there that has a list of people that they have decided they will never lend to again, no matter what the circumstances.

Why have I been rejected?

Now, of course, there are situations where your application for credit will be rejected – lenders do sometimes have to say no. But this is normally due to problems with your credit report rather than being on any blacklist.

The problems that may be affecting you credit report include having defaulted on payments before, not having a credit history because you’ve never borrowed before or there’s something is appearing on there that’s incorrect.

Creditors will want to check your history carefully, as they need to ensure that you can afford your repayments, and are not already in too much debt. This is required so that they can be sure that they are lending responsibly.

Can I borrow in the future?

As long as you take steps to improve your credit score, you should be able to borrow in the future, regardless of whether you’ve had problems managing your debt or not. But you need to be aware that this can take time, as a default can stay on your credit file for six years.

It’s also important to remember that while lenders will look at your credit report, they each have their own criteria too. So, your credit history can produce different results depending on which lender you apply for credit with, some may have stricter rules than others.

How to improve your credit score

First you need to know what your credit score is, and you can do this using Experian, Equifax or Noddle. This is key because you will get a general idea of how risky you appear to lenders, and you’ll also get a chance to start the process of getting any mistakes you find on there, corrected using the Notice of Correction facility available.

If your score is lower than you would like, there are some l things that you can do to try and improve your result. For some tips on how to do this, check out our blog.

There you have it. The answer to this one was pretty straightforward – there is no blacklist! There’s only a score that’s decided on two things – your official credit report and the criteria the lender wants to apply when you make your application. If you satisfy their criteria – even if you’ve had problems in the past – then you will be able to borrow again.

We hope you’ll be happy with our service but, if you’re not, we want to hear from you so we can try to put that right. Read here for information about our Complaints Procedure and about your right to refer a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Your payments into a Debt Management Plan are protected and compensation could be available from the FSCS if there are any shortfalls in funds held on a customer's behalf.

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